Plymouth's jobless total falls

The number of people out of work in Plymouth has fallen according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today (Wednesday 12 June).

The city's jobless total for May fell by 162 to 5,719 from the April figure of 5,881.

The comparison with May last year shows a drop in unemployment of 897 from 6,616 in 2012, a 0.5% fall in the total percentage of those out of work.

Despite a rise in the number of jobless in the South West from 12,000 to 168,000 in the quarter to April, unemployment in the region remains the lowest in the UK at 6.2%.

Nationally, unemployment fell by 5,000 in the three months to April to a total of 2.51 million - a rate of 7.8%.

A spokesperson for the ONS told the BBC: "The underlying picture really is fairly flat for unemployment as a whole."

Meanwhile Jobseeker's Allowance claimants fell by 8,600 in May from a month earlier to 1.51 million, its lowest level in two years.

A record 29.7 million people in the UK are now in work, a rate of 71.5%.

However the number of women out of work rose by 7,000 to 1.09 million.

Long-term unemployment - those out of work for more than a year - has increased by 11,000 to just under 900,000.

Youth unemployment (those aged between 16 and 24) fell by 43,000 to 950,000.

More than a million over-65s (nearly one in ten) are now in employment, the highest since records began in 1971.

Average earnings rose by 3.3% in April from the same month last year. Company bonus payments paid a month later than normal are thought to be the significant factor in this increase.

Total earnings rose by 1.3% in the three months to April, still well below the rate of inflation. With consumer prices up 2.4% in the year to April, people's purchasing power continues to be hampered.